Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 58.djvu/84

76 serve in a district in which he was born. The reason for this is that, being a stranger, without local prejudice or interest, it is believed that he will administer justice quite impartially. Unfortunately, human nature being the same in China as elsewhere, the official, on account of his lack of local prejudice, administers justice in such a manner as will best promote his own interests and secure his advancement.

Topographically considered, China lies on the eastern flank of the great Central Asian plateau and, therefore, its main drainage lines lie east and west. There are three great valleys: that of the Yellow, in the north; Yang-tze in the center; and the Si (or West), in the south. The Yellow River, or Hoang-ho, or as it is frequently called, on account of its erratic and devastating floods, 'China's Sorrow,' is a stream very much resembling the Mississippi, carrying a great amount of alluvium, which it deposits at various places, forming bars and shoals. In order to protect the shores from inundations, the Chinese for many years have been building dykes with the result of gradually raising the bottom of the river through the deposition of alluvium. There are now many places where the bottom of the stream is actually higher than the normal banks. Under such circumstances the breaking of a dyke means untold destruction, with possible permanent change of bed. The location of its mouth shows the character of this great river. Eighty years ago it flowed into the Yellow Sea, south of the Shang-tung Peninsula. To-day it enters the Gulf of Pe-chi-li two hundred and fifty miles in a direct line northwest of its previous location, or about six hundred miles, when measured around the coast line. The Yang-tze, on the other hand, rightly merits its name of 'China's Glory.' This noble stream, whose length is about 3,500 miles, of which 1,100 miles are navigable by steam vessels, divides the country, approximately equally north and south. Its drainage area covers more than one-half of the empire, the richest and most valuable portion. This stream, like the Hoang-ho, carries a large amount of alluvial matter, but it is much more orderly and well regulated. Practically at its mouth, the gateway to Central China, although actually on a small tributary called the Wang-Poo, is Shanghai. The West River, or Si-Kiang, drains the southern and southwestern section of the empire, flowing into the sea at Canton, where with the Pei (North) and Pearl rivers it forms the broad estuary known as the Canton River.

In agricultural possibilities and mineral wealth China is particularly fortunate. On account of its great dimensions north and south it enjoys all varieties of climate from the tropical to the temperate, and in consequence possesses the ability to raise almost any crop. The great bottom lands of the Yang-tze, Hoang and other rivers, which are subject to annual overflow, are thus by nature enriched and automatically fertilized as are the bottom lands along the Mississippi and other